Vinyl Souk's Mini Festival takes over 25hours One Central on 14 and 15 November
The homegrown festival of independent music returns for a fourth edition, now over two days, with live stages, vinyl sets, talks and a market. Day passes cost from Dh157.50.
25hours Hotel Dubai One Central
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Vinyl Souk, the Dubai platform behind a string of record fairs and listening nights, brings its Mini Festival back to 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November. It is the festival's fourth edition and the first to run over two full days, which the organisers call their biggest yet.
The festival spreads across the hotel. A live Main Stage is set up on the outdoor Plaza; Souk Sessions, built around vinyl selectors, take over Nomad Day Bar; and Souk Lab at Cinema Akil hosts talks, workshops and learning sessions. Around them there is an independent marketplace, food pop-ups and hands-on activities, so the day works as much for browsing as for listening.
What sets it apart from Dubai's bigger music weekends is its focus. Vinyl Souk says the festival is meant to champion grassroots scenes, independent artists and alternative sounds from the UAE, the wider region and beyond, and to connect audiences with musicians, selectors, creatives, small businesses and cultural communities, rather than to follow the usual headline-act format. Earlier editions at the same hotel mixed local DJs and selectors with live bands from the city's independent scene.
It also falls in a busy fortnight for culture in the city, after Dubai Design Week in d3 and alongside the Sharjah International Book Fair, which runs until 15 November.
Doors open at 4pm on both days. Tickets are sold on Platinumlist, with day passes from Dh157.50 to Dh183.75; each pass is good for one day, and you do not have to choose the day in advance. The Main Stage on the Plaza is strictly for guests aged 21 and over. 25hours Hotel One Central is next to Dubai World Trade Centre, a short walk from the World Trade Centre Metro station. The line-up had not been published when this story was written.